


Uncharted Territory

by QuirkyRazcel



Category: Original Work
Genre: Demons, Driders, Eldritch, Eventual Smut, Exophilia, F/M, Might add more tags later, Monsters, OC full of anxiety and wants to do a good job, Slow Burn, Swearing, Violence in Later Chapters, Werewolves, Witches, crypids, fae, first fanfic please clap, forest spirit, tetratophilia, things that go bump in the night - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:01:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26279077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuirkyRazcel/pseuds/QuirkyRazcel
Summary: Defeated and out of options, Cam reaches out to an old colleague for a new job. This new job will take her to a sleepy town in the middle of acres of forest. Nature and wilderness? Cam can handle that any day. Unusual occurrences around town and said forest? Maybe that stress is really getting to her....
Relationships: Eldritch/OC, Forest Spirit/OC, Original Female Character(s)/Original Non-Human Character(s)
Kudos: 2





	1. Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Greetings humans! I finally decided to write and post and holy crap I am nervous. As obligatory, this is my first written and published fan fiction/creative writing piece. Please please please leave comments, constructive criticism, and all that good stuff. The rating will stay the same throughout this series to stay on the safe side, and things will get a bit steamy later on ;) Thank you and enjoy!
> 
> CW: Swearing, mentions of verbal abuse (please let me know if I missed anything)

She lets out a shuttered breath as she tries to focus on something-anything- from the passenger window.

“How are you feeling, Cam?” Oscar asks. He keeps his gaze on the road ahead but glances over with a look of concern several times at her direction.

“Uh, well...I was screamed at by some random person about a case I had no clue about. Threw some wonderful colorful language at me, I might add.

Then, I tried to go to my manager-per protocol- to explain the situation at hand. Told him that I did not know what the woman was talking about as I did not see her file in the system. Turns out: he knew about the case and didn’t tell me so the file was never properly processed. Proceeded to place blame on me somehow and other bullshit- sorry for my language.”

“I encourage you to use foul language. Go on.”

“After I was humiliated,I went to go out to smooth things over with the screaming Karen. That blew up in my face big time. So I internally shut down, walked away, grabbed my stuff, walked into my manager's office and quit. So it’s...it’s a lot.”

Cam talks deep breaths to get herself to calm down. She can already feel a headache from all of the crying creeping through. Thankfully, she is at least to the point where she can coherently talk again.

Oscar, a friend in another department, found Cam post-incident a sobbing mess. He often goes between the town hall she worked at and another city so he’s often on the go. However, he happened to have a meeting today at town hall and was on a quick break when he found her. He immediately offered her a ride home, or at least if she wanted to just drive around and vent. She was surprised he found her in a little hidden area near the town hall. To be honest, she was hiding because she didn't want anyone in public to see her in that state.

They've been pretty good work friends for about a year now. Though Cam and Oscar never met outside of work, they talked to each other in the halls frequently and hung out during lunch breaks when he was in town. He is friendly and goofy; Cam enjoys his kind-hearted company in a toxic work environment where everyone is cut throat.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that. You don’t deserve to have been treated like that by anyone. Your manager sounds like a real fucking piece of work.” He shakes his head. “I know you have been having some issues with him in the past with similar behavior. Have you ever reported him like I suggested?”

Cam looks down at the tissue Oscar provided earlier. She starts to tear a bit at the edges.

“No...” She says meekly. “I hate confrontation, and I feel shaky just thinking about it.”

Oscar sighs, “Still, you don’t deserve to be treated with disrespect. I...it’s not the time for a lecture. I’m glad you finally got out of that job. You’ve been miserable since you were hired. I’m surprised you stayed as long as you did. I know it’s a bit early but do you have a plan or anything?”

No, of course she didn’t. She did not at all plan to indirectly say “fuck you” and quit. She has no back up job, savings is practically non existent, and she has bills to pay. Aaaaaand she's starting to tear up again.

“Okay, that was my bad for asking so soon.” Oscar grimances. “I’m sorry.” He’s silent for a moment as he turns the corner. Since Cam has not told Oscar her address yet, he’s just been riding around the town. “I could see if I know anyone who is hiring, if you want. But if you want to take a moment to relax, which you rightly deserve, and clear your mind, that’s okay too. I can also grab your things if it’s too much for you to go back in.”

Cam looks at Oscar. If she did not know him any better, she would have been a bit put off by Oscar’s protectiveness and overwhelming need to help. In the year they’ve known each other, that’s the way he is- always there to lend a hand to someone in need.

Cam digits in her seat. She feels guilty and mortified how everything escalated the way it did. Then Oscar found her on his coffee break crying and hiding behind a tree, and now he’s taking time off his work day to help her clean up the mess she made. All because she couldn’t stand up for herself.

“I think I just want to veg for today and think things through.” She says,” I don’t know what I want to do and it’s a lot right now.”

“That’s fair.” Oscar nods. “Let me know where you want me to drop you off or if you want me to continue driving.”

“I’m okay. You can drop me off here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I want to walk around to clear my head a bit and then I’ll head home.” She puts on her best convincing smile.

Oscar looks at her for a moment with a concerning look “Okay, I’ll drop you off here.”

He pulls over into the curb, and Can makes her way to grab her things before I unclick the seatbelt.

“Before you go, let me give you my number. If you ever need anything or need to talk, I’m here. Or-actually let me get you her number too- you can always talk to my wife, Diana. I know you two only met the few times she visits me at work for lunch, but she totally wouldn’t not mind if you two met up to chat or if you ask her for any help.” He hands me his business card with his cell and his wife’s cell numbers scribbled on. I gently hold onto it, not sure what to do.

“Thank you, for everything. I’m sorry I made you miss your meeting…”

He laughs, “Oh please don’t worry about that. It was an incredibly stuffy meeting. While I’m glad I’m missing it, I would never wish for anything like today to happen to you.”

Cam smiles, “Thank you. I...I don’t know how to repay you.”

“No repayment needed! People need to look out for each other without having to feel like you “owe” someone something. That was a huge thing in the town I grew up in.”

“That sounds like a really nice place to live.” She ponders before quickly realizing she’s taken too much of Oscar’s time enough as it is.

She exits the car and thanks and apologizes Oscar again about everything. He reassures her it’s all well and good before he waves goodbye and drives off.

Cam shoves her hands into her jacket pocket and deeply breathes in and out. It’s still summer, but it’s cooler and there’s a hint of crisp autumn in the air. It’s a perfect day for a walk.

Cam makes her way through town to the nearby woods to walk a bit on the hiking trail. It always provides her with a calming and soothing effect. Whenever she needed to think, she went to the woods. Whenever she needed to vent (to nearby trees and woodland creatures), she went to the woods. If cam could make a living being a hermit in the middle of nowhere, she’d do it in a heartbeat, as long as there was internet access of course. Even though she’s always grown up with stories of something lurking in the forest, ready to eat you or other impending doom, she’s always felt right at home when walking through the woods. She always uses common sense when she enters the woods so she is never really scared of any “unknown” out there. Plus, those childhood stories were used as cautionary tales and moral teachings. There was no such thing as big, bad talking wolves and witches who ate children.

By the time she gets home, it’s just past sun-down. She dumps her bag on the ground, shuffles out of her work clothes, and places the take-out onto her coffee table. She drinks some water from the tap as she goes through her phone, skimming through the messages and missed calls from colleagues. Some wanted to know the hot gossip while others showed genuine concern as word inevitable spread around what had happened. Kind words or not, her heart clenches and stomach turns at the reminder of the events that day.  
She takes some deep breaths.

In...one two three four

Out...one two three four

In...one two three four

Out..one two three four

Once back to some stability, Cam plops on the couch and starts shoveling food into her face. Emotions do tend to make one ravenous. 

During her refreshing walk in the woods, she was able to calm down and think of a game plan. She would take it easy for tonight and try, if she could, reach out to the nicer colleagues to let them know she’s okay (screw the rest). Tomorrow, which she was dreading, she was going to have to reach out to HR and go through formalities. She was done with that place, and just needed to grab a few things from her desk at a later date. She may take up Oscar’s offer to grab her stuff or maybe another well-trusted colleague.

She thoughtfully chews on her bacon mac-and-cheese at the next part of her plan: finding a new job. While Oscar’s other offer does stick out in her mind, she did not want to bother him more than she already has. She has enough for groceries and rent for just the end of the month, which was fast approaching, and then that was it. She could find part-time work if needed, but ideally she would need a full-time gig to afford. Cam would make it work.

There was plenty of work out there, she thinks optimistically, ignoring the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. Everything will all work out.


	2. Patience Can Suck It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey! Second chapter is up and ready to go. It's a bit slow now, but I wanted to introduce the characters more. It won't be too long before Cam will meet a certain someone. Please like and comment! I want to know how I can improve my story for you. Thank you! :)

Alas, everything did not quite work out. Things have been turbulent for the past 3 weeks since that fateful day occurred. 

To start, when she finally mustered her courage to call HR the next afternoon, Cam knew it was going to be a long day. The HR employee had a feign air of concern for the events that occurred. Cam’s manager unfortunately had a reputation for not doing his job and passing the blame on to someone else. However, since he’s charismatic and knows people high up, everyone turns a blind eye. She remembers colleagues who have complained to HR in the past about his work ethic, but while “investigations are pending”, nothing ever turns to fruition. In the end, they forced her to come back to the office to sign paperwork because who does electronic signatures in the 21st century? Even though it irked her that they did not ask her to write a report on the incident, she did not fight back. Cam was more than ready to be done with that place and never look back.

Thus brought her to her next issue: returning to work. The HR employee highly recommended she return first thing the following morning to deal with her paperwork and her belongings she left behind. Cam was not ready to go back so soon, but she needed to rip the bandaid off sooner rather than later. Even if her anxiety was at an all time high. 

The next morning, Cam put on a decent pair of black jeans, a blue blouse, and flats. It’s not like she was going into work, but she did not want to appear indecent during her official exit. If she had more guts, she would have waltzed in there with her head held high and ready to kick ass and stand up for herself. That was not Cam at the current moment. Cam wanted to sneak in there unnoticed and try not to vomit from how nervous she was. Cam wanted to run away deep into the forest and never return.

Maybe start a new career as a local cryptid. Yeah, that sounded nice…

Unfortunately, that was not Cam’s current reality. Big girl pants: on.

Cam practiced her breathing exercises and focused on her plan: go in, sign the paperwork, do the unnecessary exit interview with HR, grab the box of her belongings a few friendly colleagues prepared for her, and run very, very far away. On the bus, she recited her plan on the way to town hall, but she could not stop fidgeting and started to play with the zipper on her bag.

When the bus dropped her off, the town hall loomed over her. Cam clutched her bag, her heart, and stomach, ready to leap out of her throat. Her coworker, Becca, should be waiting for her in the lobby to give her her old manager’s schedule. His schedule changes day to day and, mostly, how he feels. Becca is his assistant and knows his behavior like a trained psychologist (Cam is pretty sure she’s using him in her dissertation). Once she goes in, Becca was to pass her the schedule and Cam would use that as her timeline to sign off on HR documents, grab her stuff, and go. All avoiding her former manager in the process.

Cam took a deep breath and opened the lead-heavy door. 

“Oh, hey Cam!” 

Shit, Cam thought. When she turned, she was relieved once she saw Oscar. 

“Hey!” Cam tried to not look as surprised as she was. “Sorry I didn’t text. I...uh…”

Oscar’s toothy grin never wavered. “It’s no worry, really, Cam. You don't need to explain yourself. Do you need help with anything?”

Cam paused. Before she could say anything, she saw Becca walk towards her. “Actually…”

That is how Cam and Oscar found herself and Oscar crawling on the floor of her former office space to avoid unsavory co-workers and her ex-manager. Oscar quietly hummed tunes alternating between Mission Impossible and James Bond. 

Becca’s schedule was flawless as ever, including the part where she predicted that he would take an hour nap after lunch. Unfortunately, HR held Cam longer than she anticipated. They went on a nails-on-chalkboard spiel about how they take “complaints seriously” and that “they were sad to see such a hard-working person leave”. Of course, they made sure Cam had plenty to read over and sign, even slipped in a NDA form. 

Once Cam was done, she was two hours behind schedule. Initially, Cam was supposed to be done by the time her manager went to lunch, or at least when he took his nap. She ended on “Walk around and appear like a manager” time. 

She couldn’t wait it out because while she did not want to run into her former coworkers, she did not want to come back. If she stayed in the lobby, surely someone would see her. 

Thankfully, Oscar had an idea before her exit interview. Becca and Cam told Oscar their plan and the manager’s schedule. Oscar’s grin grew wider and wilder with each sentence. 

“Well, if you’re worried about your manager catching you if you go too long with HR, why don’t we sneak in?” Cam swore he looked like a child in a candy store.

Becca smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Alright there 007, while Cam is with HR, I’ll get you our floor plan and get you acquainted with our little circle of hell.”

Fast forward to how Cam and Oscar avoided everyone else in the office like they were a part of a video game. While it would have been so much simpler for Becca or another colleague to hand her a box of her things at her desk, Cam also left some leftovers in the fridge she needed to grab and needed to leave a signed document with . Actually, now that Cam thought more about this, it would have been much easier for someone else to do all of this and hand her a box. Why did she not think of that before-

“Excuse me?” A stuffy baritone voiced.

Cam was so fucked. That was her manager and all she wanted to do was shrivel up and disappear into the carpet. 

“Ah, yes!” Oscar jumped up from his place behind Cam as he initially followed her to her desk to grab her things. “I’m Peter and my colleague here lost her earring as I was giving her a tour on her first day here.”

Cam tried her damnedest to glance back without being recognized. The way Oscar’s body was poised guarded most of Cam’s body from sight. Cam internally thanked Oscar for having a tall, wide and muscular frame. 

Oscar started to use flattery to pull her ex-manager into small talk and kept his gaze on Oscar, not on Cam. Which seemed to work quite well because Cam was able to slide her box of things off her desk and gently onto the floor without anyone noticing. Well, except Fred noticed, but Cam shot him a murderous look and shook her head and she placed a finger to her closed mouth to make sure he got the point. Fred nodded wide-eyed and quietly went back to his desk.

Becca came to the rescue and told the manager that there was an essential call on the line he needed to attend to right away. Once he left, Oscar looked back and proudly gave Cam a thumbs-up and Cam warily returned the thumbs-up, just noticing how frayed her nerves were. 

When they safely made it to the lobby, Oscar burst in a fit of giggles and Cam let out an exasperated laugh, “I can’t believe we just did that. I’m so sorry you had to lie and-”

“Oh please, that was the most fun I have ever had in this place. The look on his face! And you slid out with a box- a box!- without anyone knowing the wiser. God, he is such an egotistical ass. I really wanted to punch him.” 

“Oh, you have no clue. Thank you so much, Oscar. I really do appreciate this. I don’t know how to thank you, really”

Oscar flashed a smile, “No problem at all. I have to rush to finish up some things or else I would have offered you a ride home. Just always know you have people who have your back, okay? If you’re okay, this is where I’ll have to leave you.”

They said their goodbyes, and Cam nudged the front door open with her foot.

When Cam left the town hall with her belongings in tow, she felt a colossal weight off of her shoulders. She felt she could finally start fresh and finally work toward bettering herself.When she was first hired at the town hall right after undergrad, Cam naively thought if she worked hard, she would move up and make a difference to her community. Sure, the pay was not the greatest and the work was overwhelming, but . She did not realize how inefficient, dirty, and infuriating it all turned out to be. It seemed that the harder Cam worked, the harder she made it for herself. Once in a while she would find herself wishing she could be more laid back like some of her co-workers who did just the bare minimum. At least, they did not seem stressed all the time. 

The fresh beginning, though, meant finding a job before she ran out of money. Ultimately, Cam’s newfound peace was met with a more overbearing wave of unknowns.Thus, brings everything to present day.

For three weeks, she tried her damned hardest. 

For three weeks, she looked at every website and job ad in sight. She scuredged the internet and called every place she could think of. And still...

For three weeks, she was turned away, ghosted by recruiters. A few got back to her, but they were mostly rejection emails. Also, Cam is pretty sure one of those was chain email….

For three weeks, she saw her savings dry up before her eyes. Now all that is left is a few eggs and some noodles left in her fridge.

On the third week, Cam was doing laundry when something fell out of her jacket pocket. She bends down to pick it up. It’s Oscar’s business card. She lets out an exhausted sigh. 

Oscar has been extremely kind to her. She really appreciates his friendly attitude and his kindness, but if she calls him, it feels like she’s taking advantage of his friendship. She hasn't even called or texted him since he helped her get her stuff without being noticed. Contacting him now would seem like taking advantage of his kindness. 

_Just always know you have people who have your back, okay?_

Cam stares at the business card and goes to find her phone.


End file.
